FREE AGENCY: At midnight March 8/9 , the FA circus begins with the ability of teams to negotiate with players from other teams. Although they can not be signed until Monday afternoon, we will have a ton of leaks from both agents and teams about the possible deals. Big names will be spread across the media as teams look to land a game-changer.

Historically, the Ravens do not participate in this round of FA. They will tender their players based on the value to the team and will push to reach a deal with those that they feel can help over the long-term - at the right price. They do not jump into the high-stakes game, choosing to move in after the draft for the better buys. Being a Ravens' fan at this time of the year is merely a matter of watching the rest of the NFL go by and hoping that certain players are not gone when the dust settles.

I believe that Pitta and Arthur Jones will be tendered at a level to keep others at bay. I figure that Kruger and Williams are history, and could see Reed finding more love elsewhere. McKinnie will be looking for the big pay-day, but it is questionable how others will see his value. Whether the Ravens feel he has changed in his off-season practices will determine if he is offered a one-year, incentive-laden deal to stay another year. Ellerbe is a question mark. Is he worth a long-term deal? He played well this year. He has an injury history and was in the doghouse for a while. Do you dedicate money to someone with that history? Does he find a bigger payday from someone else?

Watch the Ravens concentrate on their own and look for the bargains that will come later.